Justin Houtz

Judges 13, Acts 17, Jeremiah 26, Mark 12

DateVersionReading Plan
@July 30, 2024ESV (2016)M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Judges 13

Judges 13:12, 17 (ESV) 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” … 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?”

The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife who told her that, though she was barren, she would conceive and bear a son (Samson). Manoah was not present at this first encounter, so he prayed for his return and teach them what to do with the child. God listened to Manoah and the angel appeared again to Manoah’s wife who quickly told her husband and they were able to interact.

A couple of observations to note. First, both appearances of the angel of the LORD were to Manoah’s wife. As the CSB Notes point out, Manoah questioned the angel’s identity and their responsibilities of the child when the angel appeared the second time, but “The angel simply repeated the instructions earlier given to his wife. There was nothing required of Manoah, only of his wife.” Second, Manoah expressed no doubt that what the angel spoke would come to pass. Manoah did not say, “If your words come true” but “When your words come true”. By his prayer and in trusting in the words of the angel, Manoah demonstrates himself to be a man of faith. This is further reinforced by a later incident where he tries to dissuade Samson from marrying outside of the covenant people (Judges 14:3).

Acts 17

Acts 17:18–21 (ESV) 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul’s ministry in Athens was met with confusion among the Epicureans and Stoic philosophers. Some questioned his teaching entirely and others thought he was a preacher of foreign divinities. The Athenians were inquisitive of Paul’s teaching and wanted to know more of what the things meant as they spent their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. The BBC notes that “The Athenians loved to stand around and talk, and to listen to others. They seemed to have an unlimited amount of time for this.” While it is not a bad thing to listen and speak of new things, spending your time exclusively in philosophical discourse is not very fruitful. This is convicting as I enjoy this pastime in a theological sense, talking through aspects of the faith at a conceptual level. However, I need to understand how this must be properly balanced with being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only.

Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah 26:16 (ESV) 16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”

The people defended Jeremiah against the priests and prophets, saying that he did not deserve the sentence of death for speaking to them in the name of the LORD. By this we see just how corrupt the priests and prophets of the day had become. Had they been truly sent by the LORD and faithful to the prophecy they had been given, they too would have been pronouncing impending judgment along with Jeremiah (and indeed Uriah in Jer. 26:20). The FSB Notes says that “the conflict emphasizes the difficulty in recognizing true and false prophecy when both sides are claiming to speak on behalf of the same God.” As we read of these disputes, we should be all the more convicted to immerse ourselves in God’s Word that there be no doubt as to what is of God and what is not.

Mark 12

Mark 12:13–14 (ESV) 13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”

Only Mark mentions the Herodians as being united in their hopes to entrap Jesus. The CSB Notes provides some context regarding this group:

The Herodians were Jewish supporters of Herod the Great and his family, here specifically Herod Antipas of Galilee. The Herodians are allied with the Pharisees in the NT, which is ironic because the Herodians supported Hellenism (Greek influence), while the Pharisees opposed it. The linking of these groups indicates that opposition to Jesus involved the unlikely unification of diverse political and religious factions.

Also worth noting is the way in which the Pharisees and Herodians approach Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar. They do not simply ask the question directly but lead into it by way of flattery, saying that He does not care about anyone’s opinions, is not swayed by appearances and truly teaches the way of God. The NAC says, “The insincerity of the questioners is seen further in the flattery they employed. All the things they said were true, but their motive was wrong. They were willing to concede some virtues to Jesus in order to get him to relax his guard and to ruin him at another point.” Their hearts were impure and uniformly set against Jesus which manifested in the guile of their questioning. May this be then be an antithetical example for us, that our pursuit of God and His truth be from a heart of earnest humility.

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